US7527827B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for performing a predetermined process on a substrate having coating film formed thereon includes preparing a data base denoting a relationship between each of parameters and a processing time of a predetermined process and storing the data base in a control section. The parameters include the temperature of a disposing plate, a supply rate of an ammonia gas, and an amount of a water vapor contained in the ammonia gas. The method further includes inputting a preset specific time value of the process into the control section; calculating candidate values of the parameters to finish the predetermined process by the specific time value; and determining specific values of the parameters to be used, based on the candidate values.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present divisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/290,351, filed on Nov. 8, 2002 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,436, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese patent application number JP 2001-345726, filed in the Japanese patent office on Nov. 12, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method used for forming a film such as an interlayer insulating film on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, known as a method of forming a dielectric film such as an interlayer insulating film on a semiconductor wafer is a method of coating a wafer with a coating liquid by using an SOD (spin on dielectric) system so as to form a coated film, followed by applying a physical treatment such as a heat treatment to the coated film. In general, a spin coating method, in which a coating liquid is supplied onto substantially the center of a semiconductor wafer that is stopped or rotated, followed by rotating the semiconductor wafer at a prescribed rotating speed so as to expand the coating liquid onto the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer, is used as a method of forming a coated film.

Recently, a material having a low dielectric constant is required for forming an interlayer insulating film and, thus, various materials, which are so-called “low-k” materials, are being developed. Some of these low-k materials are required to be processed with an ammonia (NH₃) gas containing a prescribed amount of a water vapor.

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view showing aconventional aging unit90, which is used as a process unit for processing a wafer under an ammonia gas containing a water vapor. As shown inFIG. 1, theaging unit90 comprises adisposing plate91 on which a wafer W is disposed and achamber92 housing thedisposing plate91 consisting of alower container92aand alid92b. Agas supply port95afor supplying an ammonia gas containing a water vapor (NH₃/H₂O) into thechamber92 is formed in the bottom portion of thelower container92a. On the other hand, anexhaust port95bfor exhausting the ammonia gas containing a water vapor and introduced into thechamber92 is formed in the central portion of thelid92b.

A bubbler, in which an ammonia gas is blown into an ammonia water stored in a tank for bubbling the ammonia water, is used in general as an apparatus for supplying an ammonia gas containing a water vapor into theaging unit90. The ammonia water within the bubbler is maintained at a constant temperature.

However, the temperature of thedisposing plate91 is not controlled in theconventional aging unit90. Therefore, the processing temperature of the wafer W within theaging unit90 is greatly affected by the environment of the installing site of theaging unit90. In this case, it is necessary to change the processing time in theaging unit90 in order to maintain constant the degree of progress in the reaction of the coated film. For example, it is necessary to conduct the operation to determine the conditions for determining the processing time in accordance with the processing environment at a frequency of once a day. It is also necessary to change the tact time by changing the determined processing time. Further, if the processing time in theaging unit90, which is obtained by the operation to determine the conditions, is long, e.g., 5 minutes, a problem is generated that the through-put of the wafer processing in the SOD system is lowered.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method, which permit making constant the time for applying a prescribed processing to a coated film.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate which has a coated film formed by the coating of a coating liquid with a prescribed process gas, comprising:

• • a disposing plate on which said substrate is disposed;
  • a plate temperature control mechanism for controlling the temperature of said disposing plate;
  • a chamber for housing said disposing plate;
  • a gas supply mechanism for supplying a process gas consisting of an ammonia gas containing a water vapor into said chamber;
  • an input section for inputting the processing time of said substrate with said process gas; and
  • a control mechanism for controlling the temperature of said disposing plate, the supply rate of said ammonia gas, and the amount of the water vapor contained in said ammonia gas so as to permit the processing of said substrate to be finished in the processing time inputted into said input section.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing method for processing a substrate which has a coated film formed by the coating of a coating liquid in a predetermined processing time, comprising the steps of:

• • disposing said substrate on a disposing plate;
  • housing said disposing plate having said substrate disposed thereon in a chamber; and
  • supplying an ammonia gas containing a prescribed amount of a water vapor into said chamber,
  • wherein the temperature of said disposing plate, the supply rate of said ammonia gas into said chamber, or the amount of the water vapor contained in said ammonia gas is controlled so as to permit the processing in said ammonia gas supplying step to be finished in said predetermined processing time.

According to the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method described above, it is possible to maintain constant the processing time of the substrate having a coated film formed thereon under an ammonia gas. As a result, it is possible to set short the waiting time of the substrate until the next processing so as to improve the through-put.

Further, in the case of changing the processing time, it is possible to determine easily the other process conditions such as the processing temperature of the substrate. On the other hand, in the case of changing of the tact time of a series of processing of the substrate including the processing under an ammonia gas, it is possible to quickly cope with the change by the processing conditions of the substrate under an ammonia gas. Still further, since it is possible to maintain constant the processed state of the coated film formed on the substrate, it is possible to maintain constant the quality of the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detail description of the preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view schematically showing the construction of a conventional aging unit;

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the construction of an SOD system;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the SOD system shown inFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is another side view showing the SOD system shown inFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view showing the construction of an aging unit and the gas supply mechanism for supplying a prescribed gas into the aging unit;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the construction of a control system;

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the degree of progress in the reaction of the coated film and the temperature of the disposing plate;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart exemplifying the process steps of a wafer using an aging unit;

FIG. 9 is a plan view schematically showing the construction an SOD system equipped with a humidifying-heat treating unit; and

FIG. 10 schematically shows the construction of a humidifying-heat treating unit and exemplifies the gas supply method from the humidifying-heat treating unit into an aging unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First of all, the description covers the case where an interlayer insulating film is formed on a semiconductor wafer by applying the technical idea of the present invention to an aging unit (DAC) having an SOD system mounted thereto.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the construction of the SOD system referred to above,FIG. 3 is a side view of the SOD system shown inFIG. 2, andFIG. 4 is a side view of a group of process units mounted within the SOD system shown inFIG. 2.

As shown in the drawings, the SOD system comprises aprocess section1, aside cabinet2 and a carrier station (CSB)3. As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, coating process units (SCT)11,12 are arranged in the upper portion on the front side (lower portion inFIG. 2) of theprocess section1. Also,chemical units13,14 housing a coating liquid (chemical liquid) used in the coating process units (SCT)11,12 and a pump for transferring the coating liquid, etc. are arranged below thecoating process units11,12, respectively.

As shown inFIGS. 2 and 4,process unit groups16,17 each consisting of a plurality of process units that are stacked one upon the other are arranged in the central portion of theprocess section1, and a wafer transfer mechanism (PRA)18 that is moved up and down for transferring the semiconductor wafers W is arranged between theprocess units groups16 and17.

The wafer transfer mechanism (PRA)18 comprises acylindrical support body51 extending in the Z-direction and includingvertical walls51a,51b, and a sideopen portion51cpositioned between thesevertical walls51aand51b, and awafer transfer body52 arranged inside thecylindrical support body51 so as to be movable in the Z-direction along thecylindrical support body51. Thecylindrical support body51 can be rotated by amotor53, and thewafer transfer body52 can be integrally rotated in accordance with rotation of thecylindrical support body51.

Thewafer transfer body52 includes atransfer base54 and threewafer transfer arms55,56,57 each movable in the back and forth direction along thetransfer base54. Each of thewafer transfer arms55,56,57 is sized to be capable of passing through the sideopen section51cof thecylindrical support body51. Each of thesewafer transfer arms55,56 and57 can be moved back and forth independently by a motor and a belt mechanism housed in thetransfer base54. Thewafer transfer body52 can be moved up and down by abelt59 driven by amotor58. Incidentally, areference numeral40 shown inFIG. 4 denotes a driving pulley, and areference numeral41 denotes a driven pulley.

Theprocess unit group16 on the left side includes a hot plate unit (LHP)19 for a low temperature, two curing units (DLC)20, and two aging units (DAC)21, which are stacked one upon the other in the order mentioned as viewed from the upper side, as shown inFIG. 4. On the other hand, theprocess unit group17 on the right side includes two baking units (DLB)22, a hot plate unit (LHP)23 for a low temperature, two cooling plate units (CPL)24, a transfer unit (TRS)25, and a cooling plate unit (CPL)26, which are stacked one upon the other in the order mentioned as viewed from the upper side. It is possible to arrange a hot plate unit (OHP) for a high temperature in place of the baking process unit (DLB)22.

Theside cabinet2 includes a bubbler (Bub)27 and a trap (TRAP)28 for cleaning the exhaust gas exhausted from each unit. Also, a power supply source (not shown), a chemical liquid chamber (not shown) for storing an adhesion promoter, a pure water, an ammonia gas (NH₃), etc., and adrain29 for discharging the waste liquid of the process liquid used in the SOD system are arranged below the bubbler (Bub)27.

In forming an interlayer insulating film on a wafer W by, for example, a sol-gel method by using the SOD system of the construction described above, the wafer W is transferred in general through the cooling plate unit (CPL)24 or26, the coating process unit (SCT)11 or12, the aging unit (DAC)21, and the baking unit (DLB)22 (or the hot plate unit (OHP) for a high temperature) in the order mentioned for applying prescribed processing to the wafer W. Incidentally, it is possible to apply a prescribed processing to the wafer W in the hot plate unit (LHP)19 or23 for a low temperature between the processing in the aging unit (DAC)21 and the processing in the baking unit (DLB)22 (or in the hot plate unit (OHP) for a high temperature).

Also, in the case of forming an interlayer insulating film on the wafer W by a silk method or a speed film method, the wafer W is transferred in general through the cooling plate unit (CPL)24 or26, the coating process unit (SCT)12 (coating of an adhesion promoter), the hot plate unit (LHP)19 or23 for a low temperature, the coating process unit (SCT)11 (coating of the chemical liquid for forming the interlayer insulating film), the hot plate unit (LHP)19 or23 for a low temperature, the baking unit (DLB)22 (or the hot plate unit (OHP) for a high temperature) and the curing unit (DLC)20 in the order mentioned for applying the prescribed processing to the wafer W.

Further, in the case of forming an interlayer insulating film on the wafer W by a fox method, the wafer W is transferred in general through the cooling plate unit (CPL)24 or26, the coating process unit (SCT)11 or12, the hot plate unit (LHP)19 or23 for a low temperature, the baking unit (DLB)22 (or the hot plate unit (OHP) for a high temperature) and the curing unit (DLC)20 in the order mentioned for applying the prescribed processing to the wafer W.

In the case of forming an interlayer insulating film by using a low-k material by the various methods described above, the wafer W is coated with a chemical liquid in the coating process unit (SCT)11 (or12) so as to form a coated film and, then, the wafer W is transferred into the aging unit (DAC)21 for the prescribed processing. Further, the wafer W is transferred into the hot plate unit (LHP)19 or23 for a low temperature, into the baking unit (DLB)22 (or the hot plat unit (OHP) for a high temperature) and, then, into the curing unit (DLC)20 for application of the prescribed processing to the wafer W. Incidentally, the material of the interlayer insulating film formed by these various methods is not particularly limited. To be more specific, it is possible to use various materials such as an organic material, an inorganic material or a hybrid material for forming the interlayer insulating film.

FIG. 5 shows the construction of the aging unit (DAC)21 and the construction of agas supply mechanism70 for supplying a gas having a prescribed composition into the aging unit (DAC)21. The aging unit (DAC)21 includes a disposingplate61 on which the wafer W is disposed and achamber62 housing the disposingplate61. On the other hand, thegas supply mechanism70 includes abubbler71, pipe lines for supplying an ammonia gas and a pure water, respectively, into thebubbler71, and another pipe line for supplying an ammonia gas containing a water vapor from thebubbler71 into agas inlet port63. Further, the processing of the wafer W by the aging unit (DAC)21 using thegas supply mechanism70 is controlled by acontrol system60.

Proximity pins (not shown) are arranged in a plurality of positions on the upper surface of the disposingplate61 so as to permit the wafer W to be supported by these proximity pins while preventing the wafer W from being brought into a direct contact with the upper surface of the disposingplate61. Also, the disposingplate61 has a jacket structure such that water controlled at a prescribed temperature by a temperaturecontrol circulating device66 is circulated within the disposingplate61. As a result, the disposingplate61 is maintained at a prescribed temperature so as to make it possible to maintain constant the temperature of the wafer W disposed on the disposingplate61.

Incidentally, the temperaturecontrol circulating device66 controls the temperature of the circulating water and circulates the temperature-controlled water. The temperature and the circulating rate of the circulating water controlled by the temperaturecontrol circulating device66 are determined by instructions given from thecontrol system60.

Thechamber62 includes alid62athat can be moved in the vertical direction by a lift mechanism (not shown) and alower container62bcapable of housing the disposingplate61. Thelower container62ais fixed to a frame, etc. constituting an SOD system. Lift pins67 extending through the disposingplate61 so as to move the wafer W in the vertical direction are arranged in thelower container62b. The wafer W is transferred between the lift pins67 and thewafer transfer arms55 to57 under the state that thelid62ais retreated upward and the upper edges of the lift pins67 are moved upward to prescribed positions on the upper side of the disposingplate61.

Agas inlet port63 for introducing an ammonia gas containing a water vapor (NH₃/H₂O), which is supplied from thegas supply mechanism70, into thechamber62 is formed in the center of the upper wall of thelid62a. Also, adiffusion plate65 provided withgas passing ports65ais mounted to thelid62a. Thegas passing ports65aare formed appropriately so as to permit the ammonia gas containing a water vapor, which is supplied from thegas inlet port63, to be supplied uniformly onto the wafer W in the form of a down flow stream. Since the ammonia gas containing a water vapor is supplied uniformly onto the wafer W in this fashion, it is possible to process uniformly the coated film formed on the surface of the wafer W.

The ammonia gas containing a water vapor, which is supplied onto the wafer W, passes through the clearance between the disposingplate61 and the side wall of thelower container62bso as to be exhausted to the outside through anexhaust port64 formed in the bottom portion of thelower container62b.

Thebubbler71 includes atank73 for storing an ammonia water, atemperature sensor76 for measuring the temperature of the ammonia water stored in thetank73, and atemperature control pipe74 that permits a temperature-controlled water controlled at a prescribed temperature to be circulated within thetank73 so as to control the ammonia water stored in thetank73 at a desired temperature. Thegas supply mechanism70 is controlled by thecontrol system60 that also controls the temperaturecontrol circulating device66.

An ammonia gas is supplied from an ammonia gas source (not shown) into thetank73. The ammonia gas supplied into thetank73 causes the ammonia water stored in thetank73 to bubble so as to form an ammonia gas containing a prescribed amount of a water vapor. The ammonia gas containing a prescribed amount of a water vapor is discharged from thetank73 so as to be sent to thegas inlet port63 formed in thelid62a. The supply rate of the ammonia gas is controlled by controlling the opening degree of avalve72a, and the operation of thevalve72ais controlled by thecontrol system60.

A pure water is supplied from a pure water supply source (not shown) into thetank73. The ammonia water stored in thetank73 has a saturated ammonia concentration. Where the amount of the ammonia water within thetank73 is made smaller than a prescribed amount, it is possible to supply a pure water into thetank73 so as to increase the amount of the ammonia water and to further supply an ammonia gas into thetank73 so as to increase the ammonia concentration of the thinned ammonia water to a saturated ammonia concentration. The supply rate of the pure water can be controlled by controlling the opening degree of avalve72b, and the opening-closing operation of thevalve72bcan be performed by thecontrol system60.

Incidentally, it is possible to arrange, for example, a water level sensor within thetank73. In this case, thegas supply mechanism70 is constructed such that, where the water level sensor has detected that the amount of the ammonia water within thetank73 is decreased to a level lower than a prescribed level, thecontrol system60 permits opening thevalve72bso as to supply a prescribed amount of a pure water into thetank73 and also permits opening thevalve72aso as to supply an ammonia gas into thetank73, thereby allowing the ammonia water within thetank73 to have a saturated ammonia concentration.

Thecontrol system60 permits supplying a temperature-controlled water controlled at a prescribed temperature by the temperaturecontrol circulating device75 into thetemperature control pipe74 while referring to the temperature detected by thetemperature sensor76 so as to permit the ammonia water stored in thetank73 to be maintained at a set temperature. The temperature and the circulating rate of the temperature-controlled water controlled by the temperaturecontrol circulating device75 are also determined by the instructions given from thecontrol system60. It is possible to change the amount of the water vapor contained in the ammonia gas by changing the temperature of the temperature-controlled water supplied into thetemperature control pipe74 so as to change the temperature of the ammonia water within thetank73.

As described above, in the aging unit (DAC)21, the disposingplate61 on which the wafer W is disposed is controlled at a prescribed temperature, and the ammonia water stored in thetank73 is also controlled at a prescribed temperature. As a result, it is possible to maintain constant the process conditions of the wafer W within the aging unit (DAC)21. This implies that the processing time of the wafer W within the aging unit (DAC)21 is maintained constant. If the particular situation is utilized reversely, it is possible to determine in advance the processing time within the aging unit (DAC)21 at a desired time and to determine the conditions for processing the wafer W within the processing time thus determined without fail. Since it is possible to set short the waiting time of the wafer W until a processing next to the processing in the aging unit (DAC)21 so as to improve the through-put.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the construction of thecontrol system60 used for determining the process conditions in the aging unit (DAC)21. Theprocess system60 includes aninput section60afor inputting the processing time in the aging unit (DAC)21 and acontrol device60bfor processing the data inputted into theinput section60a. Thecontrol device60bincludes adata base80a, aCPU80b, and adata transmitting section80c. The operator of the SOD system inputs the processing time in the aging unit (DAC)21 into theinput section60a. It should be noted that data denoting the relationship among three parameters and the processing time, said three parameters consisting of the temperature of the disposingplate61, the supply rate of the ammonia gas containing a water vapor into thechamber62, and the amount of the water vapor contained in the ammonia gas, is stored in thedata base80a.

Stored in thedata base80ais, for example, the data denoting the relationship between the degree of progress in the reaction of the coated film and the temperature of the disposingplate61 in the case where the processing time in the aging unit (DAC)21 is set at 60 seconds, as shown inFIG. 7. Similarly, stored in thedata base80aare the data denoting the relationship between the degree of progress in the reaction of the coated film and the temperature of the disposingplate61 under another processing time, the data denoting the degree of progress in the reaction of the coated film and the flow rate of the ammonia gas containing a water vapor in the case where the temperature of the disposingplate61 is maintained constant, and the data denoting the relationship between the degree of progress in the reaction of the coated film and the amount of the water vapor contained in the ammonia gas in the case where the temperature of the disposingplate61 is maintained constant.

TheCPU80bcalculates the conditions under which the processing can be performed within the inputted processing time, i.e., the temperature of the disposingplate61, the supply amount of the ammonia gas, and the amount of the water vapor contained in the ammonia gas, with reference to the data stored in thedata base80a. The condition calculated by theCPU80bis not limited to a single condition, and it is possible for the operator to select a single condition from among a plurality of calculated conditions. Thedata transmitting section80ctransmits the data calculated in theCPU80bor the data of the process conditions determined by the operator to the temperaturecontrol circulating devices66,75 and thevalves72a,72b.

Incidentally, where the temperature of the disposingplate61, the supply amount of the ammonia gas containing a water, and the amount of the water vapor contained in the ammonia gas have been determined as a result of the calculation by theCPU80b, it is possible to change the conditions partly. For example, the result of the calculation by theCPU80bis displayed on a screen by designating the processing time in the aging unit (DAC)21. If the result of temperature of the disposingplate61 is 26° C., an operator can change the temperature of the disposingplate61 to 22° C. by such an operation as touching the screen. Then, theCPU80bcalculates the new process condition by the data inputted by the operator without changing the processing time in the aging unit (DAC)21. By this way, the final process condition is determined.

On the other hand, it is possible to quickly cope with the change of tact time of a series of processing in the SOD system by changing the processing time in the aging unit (DAC)21.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart exemplifying the process steps of the wafer W using the aging unit (DAC)21 of the construction described above. As shown inFIG. 8, the operator inputs first the processing time, for example, 60 seconds, in the aging unit (DAC)21 into theinput section60aso as to allow thecontrol device60bto determine the process conditions in the aging unit (DAC)21 (step1). Since it is possible to set the processing time optionally in this fashion, it is possible for the operator to perform easily the processing in the case where it is necessary to change the tact time of the aging unit (DAC)21 in view of the relationship with the other units.

The operator selects the process conditions as required so as to determine the process conditions such as the temperature of the disposingplate61, the supply rate of the ammonia gas, and the temperature at which th ammonia water is held, i.e., the amount of the water vapor contained in the ammonia gas (step2). After the process conditions in the aging unit (DAC)21 are determined in this fashion, a control signal is transmitted from thecontrol device60bto the temperaturecontrol circulating device66 and75. etc. so as to set up the required process environment in the aging unit (DAC)21 (step3). It follows that the conventional step of determining the process conditions is not required in the aging unit (DAC)21.

In the next step, the wafer W having a coated film formed thereon by the coating with a coating liquid for forming an interlayer insulating film in the coating process unit (SCT)11 or12 is housed in thechamber62 of the aging unit (DAC)21, and a prescribed flow rate of an ammonia gas containing a prescribed amount of a water vapor is supplied into thechamber62 so as to process the wafer W (step4). Since the processing time in the aging unit (DAC)21 is constant, it is possible to set short the waiting time of the wafer W until the next processing so as to improve the through-put in the SOD system.

After a prescribed processing time, the supply of an ammonia gas containing a water vapor is stopped, and the wafer W is taken out of the chamber62 (step5). Then, the wafer W is transferred into the baking unit (DLB)22 so as to apply a prescribed heat treatment to the wafer W. The water W is further transferred into the curing unit (DLC)20 or a furnace (FNC) (not shown) positioned adjacent to the SOD system for application of a heat treatment to the wafer W, thereby forming an interlayer insulating film on the wafer W.

The description given above covers the case where thebubbler71 is used for supplying an ammonia gas containing a water vapor into the aging unit (DAC)21. However, the method of supplying a water vapor and an ammonia gas into the aging unit (DAC)21 is not limited to the method using thebubbler71.

For example, some of the low-k materials makes it necessary to subject a coated film formed by coating the wafer with a coating liquid to a heat treatment while supplying a gas containing a prescribed amount of a water vapor.FIG. 9 is a plan view schematically showing the construction of the SOD system provided with a humidifying heat treating unit (HAC)15 for applying a heat treatment to the wafer W under a gaseous atmosphere containing a water vapor, andFIG. 10 schematically shows the construction of the humidifying heat treating unit (HAC)15 and exemplifies a gas supply method from the humidifying heat treating unit (HAC) to the aging unit (DAC)21.

In the SOD system shown inFIG. 9, the humidifying heat treating unit (HAC)15 is arranged behind the wafer transfer mechanism (PRA)18 included in the SOD system shown inFIG. 2. The humidifying heat treating unit (HAC)15 includes a purewater storing section15cformed in the lower stage, awafer processing section15aformed in the upper stage for subjecting the wafer W to a heat treatment under a humidified atmosphere, and an evaporating-gas blowing section15bformed in the middle stage for evaporating the pure water stored in the purewater storing section15cand mixing the evaporated water with a nitrogen gas so as to prepare a nitrogen gas controlled at a prescribed humidity (humidified gas) and for blowing the humidified gas into thewafer processing section15a.

An ammonia gas is supplied from an ammonia source (not shown) into thechamber62 included in the aging unit (DAC)21. Also, the humidified gas is supplied from the evaporating-gas blowing section15bincluded in the humidifying heat treating unit (HAC)15 into thechamber62 of the aging unit (DAC)21. It is desirable for the ammonia gas and the humidified gas to be mixed with each other to form a uniform gas before these gases are supplied into thegas inlet port63. In this case, it is possible to process the wafer W under an ammonia gas atmosphere containing a water vapor in the aging unit (DAC)21 without using thebubbler71. The data concerning the process conditions of the wafer W in the case of using a mixed gas containing a water vapor, an ammonia gas and a nitrogen gas is stored in thecontrol system60 of the aging unit (DAC)21, and it suffices to determine the process conditions based on the data stored in thecontrol system60 noted above.

Incidentally, a nitrogen gas is supplied into thechamber62. However, the coated film is not adversely affected at all by the nitrogen gas. Also, it is possible to arrange a pipe line for supplying an ammonia gas into the evaporating-gas blowing section15bfor allowing the ammonia gas to contain a water vapor separately from the pipe line for allowing a nitrogen gas to contain a water vapor.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the embodiment described above covers the case where an ammonia gas containing a water vapor is used as a process gas. Alternatively, it is also possible to apply the technical idea of the present invention to an apparatus for processing a substrate by using as a process gas an ammonia gas containing a vapor of an organic solvent or a gaseous material other than the ammonia gas, said gaseous material containing a water vapor.

It should be noted that the embodiments described above are simply intended to clarify the technical idea of the present invention. Naturally, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed solely on the basis of the specific embodiment described above. In other words, the present invention can be worked in variously modified fashions on the basis of the spirit of the present invention and within the scope defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims (6)

1. A method for performing a predetermined process on a substrate having a coating film formed thereon in a substrate processing apparatus having a control section, the method comprising:

controlling a temperature of a disposing plate on which the substrate is disposed;

supplying a process gas including an ammonia gas containing a water vapor into a chamber housing the disposing plate;

preparing a data base denoting a relationship between each of parameters and a processing time of the predetermined process and storing the data base in the control section, the parameters including the temperature of the disposing plate, a supply rate of the ammonia gas, and an amount of the water vapor contained in the ammonia gas;

inputting a preset specific time value of the process time into the control section;

calculating candidate values of the parameters with reference to the data base by the control section, so as for the candidate values to finish the predetermined process by the specific time value;

determining specific values of the parameters to be used, based on the candidate values; and

setting the parameters to be the specific values and performing the predetermined process for the specific time value under control of the control section.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting the specific values from the control section to a plate temperature control mechanism and a gas supply mechanism.

3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

changing at least one of the candidate values of the parameters; and

recalculating a candidate value of another parameter by the control section, based on the at least one of the candidate values of the parameters thus changed.

4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein

said calculating candidate values includes calculating a plurality of sets of candidate values of the parameters by the control section, and

said determining specific values comprises selecting one of the sets of candidate values as the specific values by an operator.

5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the chamber includes a lower container housing the disposing plate, and a lid closing an upper opening of the lower container;

the lid includes a gas inlet port for introducing the gas supplied from a supply mechanism into the chamber, and a diffusion plate held substantially horizontal and having gas passing ports formed at prescribed positions so as to permit the gas introduced through the gas inlet port into the chamber to be blown against the substrate disposed on the disposing plate in the form of a substantially uniform down flow; and

the lower container includes an exhaust port formed at the bottom portion for exhausting the gas introduced through the gas inlet port into the chamber to the outside of the chamber.

6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said step of supplying a gas comprises:

storing in a bubbler an ammonia water having a prescribed concentration, the ammonia water being caused to bubble by the ammonia gas; and

controlling a temperature of the ammonia water stored in the bubbler.

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